Community and Ministry

Following Christ's example, we are to start with the discipline of solitude and communion with God in prayer, before moving on to recognizing and gathering together in community, and then to ministry or compassion in the world.

Very apt thought even as i now look for a community to share and minister with others.

And what is ministry?

"Ministry is recognizing and receiving the gifts of others." It involves both gratitude and compassion. And interestingly, Nouwen discusses the issue of downward mobility and voluntary displacement. It is undeniable that the world tells us the only way to go is up. Yet there are so many examples of those who have chosen to humble themselves and work with the downtrodden and forgotten. What a challenge.

Too good not to share

Remember: you belong to God from eternity to eternity. You were loved by God before you were born; you will be loved by God long after you die. Your human lifetime - long or short - is only a part of your total life in God. The length of time doesn't matter. Life is just a little opportunity for you during a few years to say to God: "I love you, too."

- last paragraph of Chapter 4 from Henri Nouwen's book Spiritual Direction

About relationships - vertical and horizontal

Two more things i'm learning from Henri Nouwen's book:

"Ideally", he says, "everyone would benefit from having a personal spiritual director. It would be a mistake, however, to think exclusively about individual spiritual directors. It is important that we start to think about a ministry in which we help one another to practice spiritual disciplines and thus live in such a way that we become more sensitive to the ongoing presence of God in our lives. What finally counts is not just that there are good spiritual men and women in this very chaotic world, but that there are communities of Christians who together listen with great care and sensitivity to the One who wants to make this healing presence known to all people."

This idea of mentorship has been so very salient to me, right from the time Ps Graham preached about it in Subi church, to the discipleship conferences i've attended back home, when God spoke through Ps Ed and Ps Jason from Gospel Light.. And of course, in my own life, i've seen the importance of having spiritual mentors - from my parents to the various mentoring relationships i've been part of, including the dear OCF-ers in Perth, as well as my dear MG sisters and others in the church. Even the YA groupchat i've found to be a source of encouragement and godly challenge.

And the second thought that resounds from the chapter i've been reading is the question "Who Am I?" How easy it is to be defined by what we do or what we have, or what others say about us. But where truly do we find our worth? This is especially important to me right now when i'm not actively engaged in a job or course of study so i'm not really doing anything at the moment.

First and always, as the Casting Crowns song so reminds me, i am His.

Blessings in pictures

MG at our most recent birthday celebration!

Part of the Page 4 SG - actors la! ;)



DCD psychs at our last dept retreat

  

The DAS psychs - I shan't say when this was taken but it was quite a while ago now!!



Some of the Sheffield bunch when Mars was in town!!

Some more of the Sheffield bunch!

Agapella

Blessings

As i look back on the first half of this year and the goings-on, i can't help but be thankful. For all the smooth preparations as we made plans for this move, from the visa applications to the renting out of our house, and of course for the many people i have in my life.

• My family, including my extended family, is such an incredible support and i give thanks for each one of the cousins, aunts and uncles who have shown their love and concern in a very concrete way throughout my life. Stan's family is pretty much the same, so now i have double of that.

• My church family has blessed me richly too. Even though it's not really the same people i grew up with, my MG, SG, and the other YAs, as well as worship team, and leaders of the church have provided mentorship and encouragement, and just a great enjoyment of the preview of heaven. We have many great memories to share, from the old days in the Sunday School and children's choir, to days in the youth fellowship, to the great project of A Walk of Faith, and just weekly edification from meeting together, and the chatter in midweek.

• My Agapella family, with whom i've shared 9 good years of my life. When i was young i wanted to join the Continental Singers after i caught them on tour with my parents. And i got to fulfill a childhood dream to sing in a group of likeminded individuals to spread the Word in song. Meeting my husband in the group was a bonus, and through the group, i've made such lovely friends, including serving with my bestie for a good part of that time and getting closer through these years. So glad to be able to join them for the launch of our second album before we left. Something i will always treasure.

• Even though i'm really not one of the best people at keeping in touch, i still have the groups of friends from school, choir, and uni who i meet up with now and then. At each stage of my life, i have been so blessed by the various people in my life.

• And last but not least, colleagues both at DAS and DCD who've been a joy and privilege to work with. Look forward to keeping in touch even though we're physically apart!

I intend to put up a photo montage of these different groups for my next post. But to end this post, i wanted to include here the lyrics of a special song Blessings by Laura Story, which i got to sing at our album launch in June..
As i look back on this last few years, i was able to walk with several dear ones through some difficult times. And this song speaks so much to me. I'll just include the lyrics to the first verse and chorus here:

We pray for blessings; we pray for peace,

Comfort for family, protection while we sleep.

We pray for healing, for prosperity.

We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering.

And all the time, You hear each spoken need

Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things.

 

Cos what if Your blessings come through raindrops?

What if Your healing comes through tears?

What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near?

What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?

Indeed: What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life is a revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy?

Definitely a point to ponder.

Creating sacred space

As advised by my fb friends, i have started reading! And the first book i started on is Spiritual Direction - compiled from the journals and writings of Henri Nouwen. Immediately in the Introduction, it talks about creating sacred space for God in my life. "This takes time and commitment". Gee, i think, what better time than this to think about creating space in my life for God. Treat this as a training ground for when things get busy again. And yet even in the midst of quietness and rest, it's all too easy to just let the time pass by.

I didn't know before that Henri Nouwen had studied psychology as well as theology, and then pastored a community of people with mental disabilities and their assistants.

Have read through part of the book quickly, meaning to go through it again in depth. What impacted me most so far was the chapter entitled "Where Have I Been and Where Am I Going?", and the sharing about Adam, a severely mentally handicapped man who Henri Nouwen had the privilege of caring for for about ten years. I am surely not alone when i wonder what purpose God had when he put someone like Adam here on earth. And yet it is the first time that through this book i realize - it was simply for Adam to just be a witness of God's love on this earth. And in the light of eternity, what is a matter of ten, twenty, or even eighty years. Perhaps this is not something the mind can easily grasp, but somehow in that instant of realization, my heart just overflowed with wonder and amazement. And Joy.

A new start

I don't actually ever recall a time such as this, when i don't have concrete plans for the near future. Guess it's really and truly a season of rest. Not because of illness or in a time of forced rest, but for a happy reason. Many friends have advised me to take the time to do what i've always wanted to do. In a sense, i must say i am extremely blessed and privileged because i have already been doing what i've always wanted to do - working with children in a helping profession. As to learning something new, which others have advised, that's definitely a good possibility.

Reminded by my reading of Hebrew 12: 1 and 2 to keep the main thing the main thing - not to forget my mission or to lose focus. Imagine if a marathon runner suddenly had amnesia and forgot what he was doing. Wouldn't that be strange.

As i look back on my last few blog posts, it's interesting that the USA trip featured prominently as one of my last posts. I thoroughly enjoyed that visit. Now, as one in a position other than that of a holiday-maker, i do need to seek the Lord and keep my eyes and ears open for opportunities, while awaiting possibly a place at Grad School.

Now, at this point of rest, i reflect on the wonderful friends i have had to say goodbye to for a time. What loving and great people that i look forward to keeping in touch with and meeting again. And i must say i am so very thankful for my dear husband who has opened this opportunity for us, and has set up the house so nicely. Because in the end it isn't where i am that makes it Home, but who i'm with. So Home can definitely be anywhere on this earth. Just as long as i remember that it isn't a permanent one :)